


you've got the love i need (to see me through)

by argenttmccall



Category: Cloak & Dagger (TV 2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Coda to s01e07 Lotus Eaters, F/M, Pre-Relationship, so here you go, y'all that last scene w the phone call messed me up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 07:39:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15286887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/argenttmccall/pseuds/argenttmccall
Summary: chem·is·try: | keməstrē | noun | a strong mutual attraction, attachment, or sympathy; the complex emotional or psychological interaction between people.orfeelings are hard.





	you've got the love i need (to see me through)

The phone calls become a recurring thing.

Tyrone is _persistent_ , if nothing else. He calls Tandy every night onwards at 10:00 pm on the dot. Ty starts to spend his evenings staring at the clock, patiently waiting for it to be acceptable to excuse himself from his parents to pick up his phone. Tandy starts to anticipate the calls, her body slowly training herself to listen for Ty’s ringtone once 10 pm starts to roll around.

It becomes an unspoken rule that they won’t discuss Roxxon, or Connors, or any of their bad shit during these phone calls. Instead, they talk about their days, even if they’d actually seen each other that day.

Ty talks about school, his classes. He comes to figure out that Tandy loves listening to him talk about his math and science classes, so he starts making even more of an effort in those classes than before just so he has something to tell her. He talks about basketball, about his classmates. About how he sometimes inexplicably feels ostracized by his peers. It’s not something that’s been demonstrated by anyone around him; it’s more of a feeling, deep in his bones. That everyone around him knows that Tyrone is Different. Other. He talks about his parents; their sometimes unreachable goals that they press on him, their unspoken sorrow over their dead son and how Ty feels like he has to work overtime just to make up for Billy’s lost life.

Tandy talks about her days and nights spent roaming around New Orleans. She tells Ty about places that she thinks he’d like to visit sometime, and gently berates him for not wanting to get out of his house more. She talks about her love of ballet, something she hasn’t talked about in _years_ ; about the feeling of accomplishment and exhilaration when she perfects a pose. She talks about her parents, from Before. Before the explosion, before the chronic pill popping; when her mother would tell the most outlandish stories and weave incredible fantasy worlds, and her father would help her create the most ridiculous science projects that they could think of. She talks about the church, her home; about how it’s her safe space, and that even though it’s so big, it never really feels empty and cold.

Pretty soon, their phone calls start bleeding into their day lives. Tandy finds herself humming along to a song that Ty had recommended. Ty finds himself smiling out of nowhere as he recalls one of Tandy’s funny quips. It becomes noticeable enough when people start to give Tandy funny looks because she’s walking around with a ridiculous grin on her face, or when Ty’s parents comment on his never ending good mood.

This goes on for about a month, and then one evening, Tandy picks up her phone at 10 pm automatically...only to realize it’s not ringing.

Tandy blinks in surprise down at her phone, and stares at it for ten minutes, but...nothing. Tandy tries to stay rational about it. Ty probably just fell asleep, or he’s at a game, or something.

Except…

The restless feeling in her body won’t leave. And with all the shit going on with Connors and his brother’s death, Tandy can’t help but worry.

So she calls him.

The line’s ringing and ringing, and Tandy won’t pretend she isn’t sitting on the floor, biting her thumbnail out of anxiety. She figures, if he doesn’t answer, it’s not _too_ stalkery to stop by his house, right? Just to make sure he’s okay?

“...Hello?”

Ty’s voice comes through the phone, sounding rough from sleep, and the relief that flows through Tandy is almost palpable.

“Hey,” she replies warmly. “Did I wake you? I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s no problem,” Ty says after clearing his throat. Tandy can hear him moving around in his bed, probably sitting up. “What’s up?”

“Oh! Uh, I was just…,” Tandy flounders, feeling hot all of a sudden. “Checking in on you? You didn’t...call…”

“Hm? Oh, shit,” Ty says suddenly. “I didn’t think I was gonna sleep for so long, I’m sorry, Tandy.”

“No worries! I’m just glad you’re fine! We’ll talk tomorrow, I’ll let you get back to sleep!” Tandy rambles through her sudden embarrassment. “Have a good night!”

“Wait,” Ty says quietly, and Tandy pauses. He sounds...defeated, almost. Something happened. So Tandy waits; she can hear his breathing hitching, as if he’s trying not to cry.

“I, um, I broke up with Evita,” Ty finally says, and it takes Tandy a second to process.

“Oh, Ty,” Tandy sighs. “I’m sorry.”

And she truly is sorry; Ty’s the sensitive type, and she knows that the girl was his first serious relationship. He’s gotta be heartbroken right now. But…

“Why’d you break up with her?” Tandy can’t help but ask. “I thought...you guys were okay?”

“Yeah, I mean…” Ty starts. “I _thought_ we were. But, I don’t know? Everything just felt...off. And neither of us was as happy with each other as we were pretending to be.”

Oh. _Ouch_. Tandy relates all too well. (She very carefully does not think about Liam.)

“Been there, done that, got the shitty t-shirt,” Tandy says with a sigh.

“I just...I don’t get it.”

“What?”

“ _I_ broke up with _her_. So...why do I feel…”

“Like there’s a hole in your chest?” Tandy guesses, and Ty’s silence confirms she was right.

“It’s...hard to breathe, y’know?” Ty confesses, and Tandy can definitely hear tears in his voice. “I just don’t understand...why I’m hurting so much.”

“Because you loved her, Ty,” Tandy says softly. She closes her eyes, trying her best to ignore the pang of jealousy at her own words. “In the end, you did what you felt was best for the both of you, which was to let her go. But that doesn’t mean that you didn’t break her heart, and _yours_.”

“Then what was the point in breaking up with her?” Ty asks sadly, and Tandy feels tears pricking at the corners of her eyes in response.

“It’s because…,” Tandy starts, butterflies suddenly erupting in her stomach. “Because you gotta believe that your person is still out there, your other half. And that they’re worth going through the pain. They’re worth waiting for.”

Tandy knows she’s walking a very fine line; so far, they’ve done an excellent job at ignoring the subtle flirting, the shy smiles, and not to mention the whole symbolism of their powers. Before Ty, she’s never really believed in ‘destiny’ or ‘fate’ or any of that shit. How could she? It would mean believing that it was fate that her father died and that her and her mother’s lives were ruined to no salvation.

But…

When they’re in the same room together, Tandy always knows where Ty is, even if she can’t see him. It’s a magnetic pull, deep in her soul, that exists only to keep tabs on Ty. When they use their powers in tandem together, it feels _right_ . They may not be able to touch, skin to skin, but Tandy’s never felt so _connected_ to anyone else before in her life. So maybe...yeah. Maybe there is a higher reason which put both Tandy and Tyrone in the water the night of the explosion. Maybe…

“You think so?” Ty’s quiet voice interrupts Tandy’s thoughts.

“I know so, Ty,” Tandy responds. “You’re too good to not have your other half out there, looking for you.”

Ty chuckles softly, and it automatically brings a smile to Tandy’s face. “I could say the same to you.”

“Me? Nah,” Tandy scoffs. “I don’t have your heart of gold.”

“Yeah, you do,” Ty says, and the sincerity in his voice has Tandy swallowing around a sudden lump in her throat. “You hide it under a ton of sarcasm and lies, but you, Tandy Bowen, are a good person. You’re someone worth waiting for.”

“You think so?” Tandy can’t help but ask in a shaky voice. It takes her breath away everytime Ty suddenly says things like that. She’s not used to anyone around her believing in her worth, after all.

“I know so.”

And just like that, Tandy’s got tears streaming down her face. Sometimes, Tandy finds herself wondering what she did to deserve someone as good as Ty in her life. With all of the lying and deceit and drug use...Tandy lets herself get lost in her misery. But then there’s Ty; he’s always there now, to remind her that she’s a good person, that she deserves to be loved.

“You’re too good of a person to be single, Tyrone Johnson,” Tandy says with a laugh, wiping her tears with the back of her hand and hoping her voice sounds steady. “Some lucky girl will snatch you up in no time.”

“Yeah, right,” Ty says with a small sigh. “I think I’ll enjoy the single life for now. And don’t go selling yourself short, Tandy Bowen. Plenty of guys out there would be lucky enough to have you.”

Tandy can hear Ty’s breath catch at his own words, and she swallows in response. For a moment, all they can hear is each other’s breathing. Waiting for the other.

And Tandy...just can’t let herself go there.

If it were _any_ other guy, they’d have fucked already and been done with it. But that would make Ty just another mark. Regardless of the fact that it’s physically impossible for them, Tandy can’t just reduce Ty to any of the other guys that she’s been with.

He deserves better than her.

So Tandy closes her eyes, swallows hard, and says with a forced laugh, “I should be so lucky, right?”

“You will, I believe it,” Ty replies, but by some unspoken agreement, the Moment is gone.

“Thanks, Ty,” Tandy says warmly. “I’ll let you get some sleep now.”

“Okay, yeah. Get some rest. And, uh, thanks. For, y’know, letting me talk.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Tandy says, clinging onto the fact that they are _friends_ ; Ty’s her best friend now, like it or not.

“Good night, Tandy.”

“Good night, Ty.”

They hang up, and Tandy slowly places the phone down next to her. She pulls on the hoodie, letting its warmth and feeling of safety envelop her, before burying her face in her pillow and finally, _finally_ , letting herself cry.


End file.
